Cardium Therapeutics, Inc. (CXM) Acquires To Go Br

Cardium Therapeutics this morning announced that its MedPodium® business has acquired the assets, business, and product portfolio of privately held To Go Brands® to support the expansion of its health sciences nutraceutical brand platform. Following the introduction of its products in a number of food, drug, and mass channel retailers, To Go Brands recorded revenues of approximately $1.7 million for the first half of this year.

San Diego-based To Go Brands’ portfolio includes over 25 products that help support healthy lifestyles. The company’s antioxidant-rich drink mixes are available in convenient stick packs that are designed to pour directly into a water bottle. To Go Brands also offers chews and mix packages for home use, as well as capsule-based dietary supplements, including Trim Energy Green Coffee Bean™, which supports healthy weight loss. These products are sold through food, drug, and mass channels at Whole Foods®, CVS®, Kroger®, GNC®, Jewel-Osco®, Ralph’s Supermarkets®, Meijr®, and the Vitamin Shoppe®, in addition to the company’s web-based store. To learn more about To Go Brands, visit www.togobrands.com. Cardium’s updated investor presentation that includes information on To Go Brands will be available later today on Cardium’s website at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=77949&p=irol-presentations.

“Our acquisition of To Go Brands is focused on building Cardium’s MedPodium in-house brand platform and health sciences business. To Go Brands have an established brand, a portfolio of marketed products, established logistics and distribution capabilities, a website e-commerce platform, and an experienced management team with key contacts and a track record of developing and placing new and innovative health and nutraceutical products into the mass, food and drug retail channels. To Go Brands will coordinate Cardium’s health sciences brand platform, including the MedPodium Nutra-Apps® product line, as well as our strategic investment in SourceOne Global Partners, a leading supplier of science-based ingredients and proprietary formulas to the national supplement and functional food and beverage industries. According to a new industry report, U.S. supplement sales are estimated to total $11.5 billion in 2012 and are projected to reach $15.5 billion by 2017. The success of products like Five Hour Energy® have shown that the nutraceutical space has the potential to generate billion dollar products without the extensive regulatory and other hurdles biologics and pharmaceuticals face,” stated Christopher J. Reinhard, Chief Executive Officer of Cardium.

“Cardium continues to focus on the strategic partnering, business development and economic monetization of our advanced tissue engineering investment that includes our FDA-cleared Excellagen professional-use wound care product, which is designed as an acellular biological modulator to activate the healing process. At the same time, bioRASI, our development partner, continues to advance the international ASPIRE Phase 3 clinical development of our Generx [Ad5FGF-4] DNA-based angiogenic biologic product candidate for the potential treatment of patients with myocardial ischemia due to coronary artery disease. In addition, consistent with our capital-efficient business model, we continue to actively evaluate new technologies and business opportunities,” Mr. Reinhard added.

Cardium issued 8.4 million unregistered shares of common stock, which is about 6.5% of outstanding common stock, after giving effect for the issuance of shares for the acquisition, to be held in escrow for 6 months and then released in tranches over the following one year period ending 18 months following the closing of the transaction. An additional 1.2 million shares of common stock have been issued and will be held in escrow for an 18-month period for unrecognized claims that may arise in connection with the asset purchase transaction or the related business. It is anticipated that a Form 8-K/A will be filed by Cardium providing audited financial statements of the To Go Brands business.